At approximately 6:15 p.m., a station wagon being chased by a patrol car began struck Sadako Hisano, a 74-year-old woman pedaling a bicycle on a street on Showa Ward. The woman was later confirmed dead at a nearby hospital due to a severe blow to the head.

The driver of the station wagon fled the scene after the incident. Police later found the vehicle about 500 meters away.

Just prior to the incident, police had spotted the vehicle, which had been reported stolen, and chased it for 1.9 kilometers in an attempt to get it to stop. Police are still searching for the driver’s whereabouts.

“At present, I believe proper chase procedures were conducted,” the chief of the Showa Police Station is quoted, according to the Sankei Shimbun (Sept. 8).